Bill would make cheating on standardized tests illegal

By staff and wire services reports

February 7th, 2013

Cheating on standardized tests in the District would be illegal under a bill introduced in the D.C. Council, and a teacher or principal found guilty of violating the law would lose his professional license and face a fine of thousands of dollars, the Washington Post reports. The measure — which council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) and colleagues Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) introduced Tuesday — comes in response to persistent allegations that cheating led to inflated scores in some D.C. public schools between 2008 and 2010.

“District parents deserve a testing system where cheating does not occur and, more importantly, where cheating cannot occur,” Catania said. “And our educators deserve to have student gains beyond dispute or reproach.”

Eight other council members signed on as co-sponsors, and a spokesman said Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) supports the measure…